DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . This action is in response to the communication filed on 3/7/2024. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Examiner Note
The examiner is here to serve, to assist, and to help applicant to the very best of his ability. The Primary Patent Examiner position is a position of serving and it is an honor to externally serve the applicant and attorney and to internally serve junior examiners and supervisors. The goal of the examiner is to work with and assist applicant to move cases along as efficiently as possible.
Applicant is encouraged to call examiner to schedule an interview if applicant has any questions about this action, wants to discuss any possible paths forward, has proposed amendments to the claims to run by the examiner, or for any other issues that applicant would like to discuss.
Examiner can normally be reached at (571) 270-3863 or michael.keller@uspto.gov, Monday-Friday, from about 6 AM - 10 PM EST and if your call is missed examiner will try to return call quickly, thank you.
Priority
This application claims priority of PCT/CN2021/117541, filed 9/9/2021. The assignee of record is GUANGDONG OPPO MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP., LTD. The listed inventor(s) is/are: DU, Yongyang; HUANG, Lei; LU, Liuming; LUO, Chaoming; HOU, Ronghui.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 3/7/2024 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDS(s) is/are being considered by the examiner.
Examiner Note
The applicant has claimed “and/or” several times throughout the claims.
The examiner is taking the position that in the case of “element A and/or element B” that the “and/or” covers embodiments having element A alone, element B alone, or elements A and B taken together. The phrase “and/or” is not inherently indefinite and therefore is not objected to or rejected as indefinite.
When construing the claims in the context of a possible anticipation or obviousness rejection, the examiner’s disclosure of any one item from the claimed list will provide sufficient teaching of the entire limitation. In Medline, for example, the PTAB stated that “and/or” is a “disjunctive alternative,” and the prior art showing one of the elements so joined renders the claim unpatentable (See, Medline Indus. Inc. v. Paul Hartmann AG, Case No. IPR2013-00173, Paper 17 (P.T.A.B. Jun. 20, 2013)).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-12, 14-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Park (US 20210100053 A1, published 4/1/2021; hereinafter Par) in view of Sun et al. (US 20220345973 A1, provisional 63/178,359 support found throughout, e.g. examples cited on Pgs 13-24 of specification of provisional; hereinafter Sun).
For Claim 1, Par teaches a wireless communication method, comprising: a first access point (AP) affiliated with an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) transmitting a first message over a first link to a first station (STA) affiliated with a non-access point multi-link device (Non-AP MLD) (Please see screenshot of Par Fig. 1C below, thank you:
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), wherein the first message is configured to indicate whether a second AP affiliated with the AP MLD is in a wake state or an active state (Please see screenshot of Par Fig. 6 below, thank you:
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);
and/or the first AP affiliated with the AP MLD receiving, over the first link, a second message sent from the first STA affiliated with the Non-AP MLD, wherein the second message is configured to request the second AP affiliated with the AP MLD to be in the wake state or the active state, or the second message is configured to indicate whether a second STA affiliated with the Non-AP MLD is in the wake state or the active state (Examiner notes this limitation is not required by the claim);
wherein the first AP and the first STA are over the first link, the first link is a … link, the second AP and the second STA are over a second link, and the second link is a … link (See Par Figs. 4-6).
Par does not explicitly teach a primary and secondary link.
However, Sun teaches a primary and secondary link (Sun 0007, 0084, 0218, 0220, 0233 all describe primary and secondary links. Please see Sun Claim 4 below, thank you:
4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising the non-AP MLD performing enhanced distributed channel access (EDCA) uplink (UL) access to the AP MLD on the second link, as a conditional link, if either: (a) a STA affiliated to the non-AP MLD in the first link, as primary link, is initiating data transmission as a transmit opportunity (TXOP) holder with the same start time, or (b) a STA affiliated to the non-AP MLD in the first link is not initiating a data transmission as a TXOP holder.)
Sun and Par are analogous art because they are both related to multi-link devices.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the of multi-link techniques of Sun with the system of Par for improved multi-link operations MLO dealing with soft AP MLDs by relaxing soft Access Point (AP) requirements on Multi-Link Devices (MLDs) (Sun ¶ 0004, 0009).
For Claim 2, Par-Sun teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the AP MLD controlling the second AP to be in the wake state or the active state at a first time point, wherein a location of the first time point is before a time point when the first AP transmits the first message or after a time point when the second message is received (Par ¶ 0026).
For Claim 3, Par-Sun teaches the method as claimed in claim 2, wherein in response to the location of the first time point being before the time point when the first AP transmits the first message, and in response to the second AP being in the wake state or the active state, the method further comprises: the AP MLD determining that the second AP has not received the second message within a first time duration, and controlling the second AP to enter a sleeping state; and/or the AP MLD determining that a link used to transmit a pending traffic does not include the second link, and controlling the second AP to enter a sleeping state (Par ¶ 0027).
For Claim 4, Par-Sun teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first message comprises a first frame, wherein the first frame is sent in response to a pending traffic to be transmitted to the Non-AP MLD being buffered in the AP MLD, and the first frame is configured to indicate that, a link on which the pending traffic is mapped includes the second link (Sun ¶ 0084-0085).
For Claim 5, Par-Sun teaches the method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first frame carries a first indication message and/or a second indication message; and the first indication message is configured to indicate that, the pending traffic is a downlink traffic to be transmitted to the Non-AP MLD, and the second indication message is configured to indicate that, the link on which the pending traffic is mapped comprises the second link (Sun ¶ 0084-0085).
For Claim(s) 6, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 1 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth above.
For Claim(s) 7, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 2 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth above.
For Claim(s) 8, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 3 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth above.
For Claim(s) 9, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 4 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth above.
For Claim 10, Par-Sun teaches the AP MLD as claimed in claim 6, wherein the second message comprises: a second frame received by the first AP from the first STA, wherein the second frame is configured to indicate that, the link used to transmit the pending traffic comprises the second link, the first STA transmits, in response to receiving a first frame sent from the first AP, the second frame to the first AP; and/or a third frame received by the first AP from the first STA, wherein the first STA transmits the third frame in response to a pending traffic to be transmitted to the AP MLD being buffered in the Non-AP MLD, the third frame is configured to indicate that, a link used to transmit the pending traffic comprises the second link (Par ¶ 0069).
For Claim(s) 11, the claim(s) is/are substantially similar to claim 5 and therefore is/are rejected for the same reasoning set forth above.
For Claim 12, Par-Sun teaches the AP MLD as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first indication message is a first identifier; and the first identifier taking a first value is configured to indicate that, the pending traffic is the downlink traffic to be transmitted to the Non-AP MLD; and/or the second indication message is a second identifier; and the second identifier taking a second value is configured to indicate that, the link on which the pending traffic is mapped comprises the second link (Par ¶ 0062, Sun ¶ 0084-0085).
For Claim 14, Par-Sun teaches the AP MLD as claimed in claim 10, wherein in response to the second message comprising the third frame, the method further comprises: the first AP affiliated with the AP MLD transmitting a fourth frame over the first link to the first STA, wherein the fourth frame is in response to the third frame, and the fourth frame is configured to indicate whether the second AP is in the wake state or the active state (Par Fig. 6).
For Claim 15, Par-Sun teaches the AP MLD as claimed in claim 6, wherein the AP MLD transmitting a pending traffic to the Non-AP MLD over the first link and the second link; or the AP MLD receiving the pending traffic sent from the Non-AP MLD over the first link and the second link (Sun ¶ 0084-0085).
For Claim 16, Par-Sun teaches the AP MLD as claimed in claim 15, wherein in response to the second AP being in the wake state or the active state, the method further comprises: the AP MLD controlling, in response to transmission of the pending traffic being completed, the second AP to enter a sleeping state (Sun ¶ 0084-0085).
For Claim 17, Par teaches a non-access point multi-link device (Non-AP MLD) comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program; and the processor is configured to call and run the computer program stored in the memory, and to perform a wireless communication method, the method comprises: a first station (STA) affiliated with the Non-AP MLD receiving a first message transmitted by a first access point (AP) affiliated with an access point multi-link device (AP MLD) over a first link (Par Fig. 1C), wherein the first message is configured to indicate whether a second AP affiliated with the AP MLD is in a wake state or an active state (Par Fig. 6); and/or the first STA affiliated with the Non-AP MLD transmitting a second message over the first link to the first AP affiliated with the AP MLD, wherein the second message is configured to request that the second AP affiliated with the AP MLD to be in the wake state or the active state, or the second message is configured to indicate whether the second STA affiliated with the Non-AP MLD is in the wake state or the active state (Examiner notes this limitation is not required by the claim); wherein the first AP and the first STA are over the first link, the first link is a… link, the second AP and the second STA are over a second link, and the second link is a … link (Par Figs. 4-6). Par does not explicitly teach a primary and secondary link.
However, Sun teaches a primary and secondary link (Sun Claim 4)
Sun and Par are analogous art because they are both related to multi-link devices.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the of multi-link techniques of Sun with the system of Par for improved multi-link operations MLO dealing with soft AP MLDs by relaxing soft Access Point (AP) requirements on Multi-Link Devices (MLDs) (Sun ¶ 0004, 0009).
For Claim 18, Par-Sun teaches the Non-AP MLD as claimed in claim 17, wherein the second message comprises: a second frame sent by the first STA to the first SAP, wherein the second frame is configured to indicate that the link used to transmit the pending traffic comprises the second link, the first STA transmits, in response to receiving the first frame sent from the first AP, the second frame to the first AP; and/or a third frame sent by the first STA to the first AP, wherein the first STA transmits the third frame in response to the pending traffic to be transmitted to the AP MLD being buffered in the Non-AP MLD, the third frame is configured to indicate that, the link used to transmit the pending traffic comprises the second link (Par ¶ 0069).
For Claim 19, Par-Sun teaches the Non-AP MLD as claimed in claim 18, wherein the second frame carries a third indication message; and the third indication message is configured to indicate that, the link used to transmit the pending traffic comprises the second link (Par ¶ 0069).
For Claim 20, Par-Sun teaches the Non-AP MLD as claimed in claim 18, wherein the third frame carries a fourth indication message; and the fourth indication message is configured to indicate that, the link used to transmit the pending traffic comprises the second link; and/or the fourth indication message is further configured to indicate that, an operating state of the second STA affiliated with the Non-AP MLD is the active state or the wake state (Par Fig. 6).
Claim(s) 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Par-Sun as applied to claim 12 above, and further in view of Huang (WO 2021251901 A1, filed 4/16/2021; hereinafter WO901).
For Claim 13, Par-Sun teaches the AP MLD as claimed in claim 12, Par-Sun does not explicitly teach wherein the first identifier is a bit of a partial virtual bitmap of the first frame corresponding to the Non-AP MLD, in response to an addressing mode of the pending traffic is group addressing, the second identifier is a bit of a delivery traffic indication map (DTIM) element, and/or in response to the addressing mode of the pending traffic is individual addressing, the second identifier is a bit of a multi-link traffic element corresponding to the second link.
However, WO901 teaches wherein the first identifier is a bit of a partial virtual bitmap of the first frame corresponding to the Non-AP MLD, in response to an addressing mode of the pending traffic is group addressing, the second identifier is a bit of a delivery traffic indication map (DTIM) element, and/or in response to the addressing mode of the pending traffic is individual addressing, the second identifier is a bit of a multi-link traffic element corresponding to the second link (WO901 ¶ 0007-0009).
WO901 and Par-Sun are analogous art because they are both related to multi-link devices.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the virtual bitmap techniques of WO901 with the system of Par-Sun for indicating whether additional information relating to the one or more BUs is present in the frame (WO901).
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure is listed below, thank you:
i. RU 2824192 C1, METHOD OF INDICATING INDIVIDUALLY ADDRESSED TRAFFIC APPLICABLE TO MULTIPLE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS AND TO ACCOMPANYING DEVICE
Please see PTO-892 for additional listing of relevant prior art made of record but not relied upon, thank you.
Conclusion
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/MICHAEL A KELLER/
Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2446
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